The State Government is helping more women and girls get involved in the sports they love, delivering grants for community sport clubs to provide more and better opportunities for engagement.
Member for Eastern Victoria, Tom McIntosh, recently announced that Bairnsdale Football Netball Club would be one of 119 successful recipients of the 2023-24 Change Our Game Community Activation Grants Program.
“We’re funding multiple clubs across Gippsland, so we can continue to boost women’s participation in every aspect of community sport, whether that’s playing, coaching, or governance,” Mr McIntosh said.
The program delivers grants of up to $10,000 to community sport and recreation clubs to help inspire women and girls to take part – including new women’s programs, hosting a women’s round as well as opportunities for club leadership roles.
Grant recipients include the Bairnsdale Football Netball Club which will deliver a new professional development course for board positions, which will allow the club to make sure women and girls are included in the culture of the club.
The Bairnsdale FNC hopes to improve female representation within sporting governance, at a community, league, and regional level.
“This grant will be used to support, educate, and raise awareness within our club and wider community in relation to equality of inclusion and leadership of females in AFL and community sport,” Bairnsdale FNC president, Micle Mann, said.
The program will also support Female Football Gippsland to hold two consecutive AFL gather rounds in Gippsland for 23 women and girls’ teams – taking place at one location across two days with around 480 participants.
Through the Fair Access Policy Roadmap, launched in August 2022, and the Community Activation Grants Program, the State Government is helping community sporting organisations achieve more equitable access and increase the number of women and girls actively taking part in their club.
Since 2018, more than $2.9 million in funding has been provided to 580 community sport and recreation clubs as part of the State Government’s $18.8 million commitment to the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation and Change Our Game initiative.
For more information, visit the Change our Game website.
